MS, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales:
On Thursday, 23 January 2025, I chaired the first Cabinet
sub-Committee on North Wales of the new government's term.
Alongside the First Minister and Cabinet colleagues, we discussed
two of the First Minister's four priorities – Iechyd Da and
Opportunities for every family – and what they meant for North
Wales. Cabinet colleagues emphasised some important developments
and good practice in the region, including the progress Betsi
Cadwaladr Health Board is making, its role in piloting Electronic
Patient Records and the real impact that its substance misuse
teams are having on the ground. On Education, we discussed the
£8.8m investment in North Wales schools to become more community
focused, building on the £4.6m already invested in 2022/23. The
Cabinet Secretary for Education also highlighted that since 2014,
schools and colleges in the North Wales region have benefitted
from an investment of £430m, delivering new and refurbished
facilities. We also heard how the Sustainable Communities for
Learning Programme will see Welsh Government grant funding of
over £690m across 82 projects in the North. We also discussed
learner mental health and well-being and the steps we are taking
to increase post-16 participation, with an emphasis on equipping
our communities with the skills they need to capitalise on the
opportunities of the circular economy and green growth.
After these discussions, we were joined by the Chair of Betsi
Cadwaladr University Health Board, the Vice-Chancellors of Bangor
and Wrexham Universities, the Chief Executives of Coleg Cambria
and Grŵp Llandrillo-Menai and the Leaders of the six Local
Authorities to discuss Iechyd Da and Opportunities for every
family. We discussed our shared vision for the region but also
heard about some of the challenges they faced. My Cabinet
colleagues and I welcomed the strength of current regional
partnership working in the region, and committed to help sustain
and develop it further.
And as part of a wider programme of engagement, many of my
Cabinet colleagues, including the First Minister, undertook a
series of visits across the region. The First Minister visited
Coleg Menai on Ynys Môn where she met students supported by the
Welsh Government's Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) before
visiting MSParc to discuss the transformational opportunities of
the North Wales freeport to the region's economy. The Deputy
First Minister was in Penrhyndeudraeth where he learnt more about
innovative wood based home construction and the opportunities the
sector provided in terms of skills and apprenticeships. The
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care visited Wrexham
Maelor and Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, while the Cabinet Secretary
for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip undertook a series of
engagements around Wrexham, where among other things she visited
St. Mark's Church in Caia Park and met with Wrexham University's
Civic Engagement team and WeMindtheGap. The Minister for Skills,
Culture and Social Partnerships visited Tŷ Pawb and Wrexham
Museum, while I welcomed the UK Minister for Veterans Affairs,
Alistair Cairns MP, to Woody's Lodge in Colwyn Bay.
I look forward to chairing the next meeting in the summer.
